This code was created taking as an example the one provided by the Open Citizen Science Congress – Argentina – La Plata- 2021.
Code of Conduct
The Friends of Friends is a yearly international meeting that gathers researchers from several countries around the world with the purpose of fostering interactions with local researchers and promoting the creation of new collaboration networks.
For this to be possible, we believe that all participants should feel safe, included and respected in their differences: diversity is the basis for all opening experiences to be more powerful. That is why we have developed a code of conduct, where we have included some of the main guidelines for mutual respect that we expect participants to follow.
These guidelines apply to all areas of the Congress: talks, debates, workshops, and interactions in the poster exhibitions.
1- FoF is a harassment-free conference. The organization will not tolerate harassment situations in both face-to-face and online interactions. Harassment includes but is not limited to:
- Physical contact without consent or after a request to stop.
- Threats of violence, both physical and psychological.
- Incitement of violence toward any individual, including encouraging a person to commit suicide or self-harm.
- Stalking or stalking, including photographing or recording.
- Continued disruption of another participant’s discussion.
- Unwanted sexual attention: proposing unwanted physical contact or sexual attention (e.g., repeated unsolicited or welcome flirting, propositions or advances, among others); reproducing sexualized images in shared spaces, including chats, workshops, and social networks.
- Publication of private communications (except when their content is harassing).
2- FoF seeks to be a diverse space, therefore the organization will not allow situations of discrimination including (but not limited to) the following practices:
- Offensive comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness, neuro(a)typicality, physical appearance, body size, race, age, regional discrimination, political or religious affiliation.
- Unwelcome comments about a person’s lifestyle choices and practices, including those related to food, health, parenting, drugs, and employment.
- Referencing someone with the incorrect gender: includes persistently describing or using a pronoun that does not correctly reflect a person’s gender identity after it has been indicated.
- Posting false or inaccurate content for the purpose of misleading other participants.
3- FoF seeks to be inclusive, and therefore the organization recommends:
- Think three times before speaking: the use of language can generate exclusion very easily; therefore we recommend all participants to pay attention and care to the words used so that they are not discriminatory. If you decide to say something inappropriate or hurtful to a participant in the discussions, you can always apologize publicly.
- Ask for consent: personal spaces, including the body, must be respected to ensure the comfort of all participants. Therefore, before initiating any physical contact we recommend that you simply ask permission to do so, asking the other person if they have a problem with it (e.g., if you want to give them a hug, “Can I hug you?” or “Would you mind if I hug you?”).
- Be aware of the amount of time you spend in discussions, giving space for others to speak and give their opinion: many times other participants may have valuable experiences but are not used to speaking in public, so we recommend paying attention in conversations to give space and not to reproduce privileges.
Reporting and penalties
Members of the organization will be visibly identified (with event t-shirts and/or PRODUCTION identification signs). In case of being a victim of any of these situations or witnessing them, they will be available to talk in a safe and private space, and try to solve them.
If you witness an event that you believe violates the code, we recommend that before reporting it, you talk to the victim to tell him/her that you will contact the organization. You can also contact the organization by e-mail by reporting the code violation to the following e-mail address: fof@observatorio.unc.edu.ar, or directly to the University authorities at violenciasdegenero@rectorado.unc.edu.ar
If you prefer to report anonymously, you can do it through the following form; we are committed from the organization to pay attention to the behavior of participants who have been reported.
In the event of an incident report, the organization is committed to discuss the incident with those who are violating the code and request their compliance. If the offenses continue, the organization will prioritize the safety and integrity of the affected participants through different modalities and possible sanctions:
- The offender will be asked to leave the event.
- If the offenses are virtual, the organization will request the cessation of harassment privately to the user in question; if it persists, it will block the user from the organization’s broadcast networks and potentially make a release with the relevant information if the affected participant authorizes it.
- If violations of the code were recorded (in video, photographs or presentations) the organization will not reproduce them among the material published after the Congress.
- If the out-of-code situation occurred in the middle of a talk or workshop, the activities will be terminated.
- The organization undertakes not to allow those who have violated the code to continue giving talks during the course of the event.
- In case the accused has privileges or responsibilities in the event, these will be interrupted.
